Ninjas in the House
by King in Yellow
Summary: Yori comes to Middleton and breaks Ron's heart, Ron puts in a call to Japan to confirm his fears, and Bonnie is mad at the world in general and Ron Stoppable in particular. Only the arrival of Fukushima could leave people feeling worse. Best Enemies series.
1. Chapter 1 Reunion with the Lover

Visit my profile for a fast overview of the Best Enemies universe. In chronological order this would be the 7th story set in the series and immediately follows Domus dulcis domus. At the end of that story a frightened Ron made a call to Yori, after having gone to bed with Bonnie. 

Boilerplate Disclaimer: Disney owns all the various characters from the Kim Possible series. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

NoDrogs created Kasy Ann and Sheki Go Possible in the story A Small Possibility. Their origin has been completely altered for my stories.

"+Quotations between plus signs represent a translation from Japanese.+" Unless, of course they are needed to represent translations from Russian or any other language. But in this story it will only be Japanese.

**Chapter 1 - Reunion with the Lover**

Ron hesitated, should he put on the Global Justice uniform or the old mission outfit? He looked spiffy and official in the GJ uniform, but it was probably a violation of seven different rules if he wore it and represented himself as a Global Justice agent when he was, in fact, only an intern -- and an intern playing hooky from his classes. And Will Du would ream him out in a different way for each one of the violations if they were discovered. Besides, he told himself, he was better known around Middleton in the outfit he and Kim wore. Even if the two of them were on fewer missions these days this would be the outfit in which he was recognized.

---

"Ron. Ron Stoppable."

"Sorry, the name doesn't mean a thing," the policeman apologized.

"I work with Kim Possible."

"Work with Kim… Oh, yeah, the blond guy. What can I do for you?"

"Someone coming in on the flight from LA, due to arrive about ten-fifteen. I need to get back to the gate to provide an escort."

"Well, you're not supposed to get to the gate without a boarding pass. Is this important?"

"Yes, VIP coming in," Ron assured him. _"The most important person in my life and I'll go Shego on you and sneak in if you don't let me see her getting off the plane."_

"Okay, then, let's see if we can get you through security. You're here kind of early, aren't you?"

The policeman talked with a security guard who knew enough about Kim to let the young man go through the security check. Ron waved thanks to both of them as he headed back to the gate.

It was only 9:30, and the plane would more likely be late than early, but Ron wanted his body in the airport with his mind. His mind had been at the airport for the last two days, since he received the call from Yori saying she was coming. His mouth felt dry as he stared at the arrival board to verify her flight was still on time. His stomach was giving him trouble too. He thought he had heard Yori saying she was coming to say goodbye to him. _"She can't be that cruel. I had to have heard her wrong. She wouldn't punish me like that for sleeping with Bonnie. She wouldn't come all this way to dump me. God, I love her. I had to have heard her wrong."_ The same thoughts kept endlessly cycling through his head, along with a generous helping of shame for being unfaithful to her, through the years it took for the minute hand to move.

At 10:21 the flight from LA taxied to the gate. Ron had his nose pressed up against the glass in the airport window -- hoping that he might see her looking out one of the windows on the airplane.

Ron transferred his attention to the gate itself as passengers began to deplane, the knots in his stomach tightened as he watched anxiously for Yori. She wouldn't stand him up, would she? Yori came out towards the end of the line of passengers, looking tired and lonely. Ron had never in his life seen as beautiful a vision. As she caught sight of the blonde man her eyes lit up and she smiled.

They were within ten feet of each other when Ron bowed, stiffly and as deeply as he could. After several seconds Yori spoke, "Ron? Ron-kun? You can straighten up now."

"Not until you say you forgive me. I'll get down and press my head against the floor if you want, but I'm sure if that's really sanitary."

"I have always loved your American sense of humor Ron-kun."

"I am serious, Yori-chan. I will not straighten up until you say that you forgive me."

"You do not need my forgiveness."

"But I feel that I do."

"So you would stand here giving a bow of apology while I went and found my luggage, ordered a taxi, and rode away from the airport?"

"I'm hoping you are not that mad at me."

"I am not angry with you."

"Then why won't you forgive me?"

"If I am not angry with you, why do I need to forgive you, Ron-kun? This is all very strange to me."

"You should hit me, it would make me feel better."

"Hit you?"

Ron raised his head and looked at her. "Yes, right in the mouth."

"Hit you in the mouth?" the Japanese girl looked puzzled.

"Can I suggest you use your lips as your weapon?"

"Ronald," she giggled, "not in a public place it is not…"

"Appropriate?"

"Yes, it is not appropriate."

"So, say you forgive me. We can find your bag and look for a place that is appropriate."

Yori rolled her eyes. "All right, Stoppable-san. You have the forgiveness you desire."

They walked slowly through the terminal, and by the time they reached the baggage claim area hers was the last bag circling on the carousel.

He threw her bag in the back seat of Kim's old VW Bug and headed into town. Yori had made a fast trip to Middleton once before, but Ron had not had a chance to show her the town. Tired as she was he did not want to take her back to the house where he would have to share her time with others.

"Would you like something to eat?"

"That would be very nice."

"We don't have any really good Japanese restaurants in town," he apologized.

"Why would I come to America for Japanese restaurant? What food is it that Americans eat?"

"We eat about anything here," he grinned at her. "But let me take you to a place where they serve something I know you can't get in Japan."

A few minutes later Ron pulled into a spot in the Bueno Nacho parking lot. He didn't get here much any more. A whole new crop of high school kids was seated at the tables and booths, but Ned was still behind the counter -- now as manager.

Ron showed her the wall with the few pictures of celebrities who had eaten there. Yori smiled to see his picture was prominent among them. Because fame is fleeting the youth eating there had no more idea who Ron was than they could have identified Jimmy Carter -- or perhaps it was the fact most people seemed to remember the red haired hero and no one paid enough attention to her side-kick. But for the woman who mattered it was Ron who was the hero.

Ron slid in across the booth from Yori after putting their food down on the table between them. He found his only hunger was to watch her as she experienced the food.

After lunch they sat on a bench in the park. Ron asked about the school, and Sensei, and the students he knew. He asked about everything except what he wanted to know, her feelings and why he could not return to Yamanouchi. He talked about the weather in Middleton and his classes at the U; he couldn't talk about the house, for that would have meant mentioning Bonnie. He spoke of everything that meant nothing to Yori, until she finally shut him up with a blow to the mouth, using her own lips as her weapon.

When their lips separated he put his arm around her and drew her close. She rested her head against his shoulder. "I love you," he told her.

"And I love you."

Ron now had the confidence the ask the question which had plagued him for months, "So why did you tell me I couldn't come back to Yamanouchi this summer?"

"Because I need to prepare for my marriage to Hirotaka."

Ron shook his head slightly, trying to clear away the auditory hallucination. "Forgive me, Yori-chan, but it sounded like you said you were going to marry Hiro."

"Hai."

"But you just said that you loved me."

"Hai."

"But… But…" Ron stuttered. "I love you. You love me."

"Hai."

"Isn't that what marriage is about?" He stared at her, unable to comprehend what was happening. After a moment's silence he heard his own voice speaking without being aware what he was saying, "Marry me, Yori. Stay here with me. I love you."

There was another moment of silence before she replied softly, "I can not marry you. I will marry Hiro as my family wishes me to do."

"I can come with you to Japan."

"What would you do in Japan?"

"I can teach English, I can cook. I can do anything. I want to be with you."

"You would always be foreigner in my country, Stoppable-san. You would come to hate me for the sacrifice you would make."

"I could never hate you. Stay here. We are better about foreigners in this country. Marry me."

"What will I do here? You are asking me to give up my family. What do you plan to do with your life? What life will I have here with you?"

"You have thought about this, haven't you," Ron asked sadly.

"I have thought about this. I do not wish to marry Hiro. But it is right to marry him. It is what he and my family desire."

"What do you desire?"

"It gives me pleasure to make my family happy," she said softly.

There was silence as Ron and Yori stared at the sun, starting to set. It had taken hours for the minutes to pass that morning while he waited for her plane. The hours spent with her that afternoon had disappeared in minutes.

"Come on," he said, "I need to take you where I live."

---

That afternoon, while Ron and Yori talked in the park another plane arrived from LA. A Japanese tourist blended seamlessly with the other passengers, while six others drew attention to themselves. Actually, Fukushima did not even look like a Japanese tourist. In his Middleton U t-shirt he was simply another student coming back from a trip. This was the secret of the ninja, to blend so perfectly with the surroundings that one became invisible. The other six were all Western, but two of them wore the shinobi shozoku. How could you not draw attention to yourself when wearing the black garb Western media associated with the ninja? The five men stayed together, laughing and talking. Clearly they knew each other. At least the woman, Gabriela, pretended she was not with the others. Fukushima wasn't certain if this was because she possessed greater intelligence than the men, or because their personal hygiene and table manners had caused the Hispanic woman to want to keep her distance.

As Ron had suggested, it had been difficult for Fukushima to get into ninja grad school after betraying Yamanouchi. The Yamanouchi training was respected throughout Japan. But when he applied to grad schools it was always the same, "We require a transcript from your former school." In desperation Fukushima had sought out other undergraduate schools, but a call to Yamanouchi usually ended his chances for an accredited ninja institution. Finally he had been reduced to looking at unaccredited schools. He hit bottom when he found himself outside the Baka Bar, Girl and School of Ninja Science.

Fukushima had seated himself at the bar, opposite an unshaven man with greasy hair and the stub of a cigarette dangling from his lip. "+I wish to enroll in the school of ninjutsu so I can get a degree+."

"+We don't get a lot of Japanese here. It is really a place for American otaku"+

"+I do not need training. I studied at Yamanouchi. I just need a degree and a letter of recommendation from my professor.+"

"+I'm the professor. You really studied at Yamanouchi? Why don't you get your degree from there?+"

"+It's a long story. I just need to know, will it be possible?+"

"+Possible? Hell, if you're telling the truth you've got a job here. Serve as head of the school for a year and write your own letter of recommendation.+"

Fukushima looked around him. The place was not appealing, but he needed a job. It wouldn't be forever -- in a year he could move on. "+I'll take the job. You realize the sign is wrong. It should say 'Bar and Grill' not 'Bar and Girl'.+"

"+No, it's right the way it is. That is another of my businesses+."

That was four years ago, and Fukushima was still there, usually teaching four-week sessions, mostly to Americans who had watched too much anime and thought they would be able to turn to smoke after taking the class.

He had kept a few contacts with Yamanouchi, students or staff who didn't really believe he could have betrayed the school. He maintained the story that he was innocent and that the gaijin had lied about him and poisoned Sensei's mind against him. They helped keep him up to date on some of the events at his old school.

When he learned that Yori was flying to America he had quickly gathered his current class of students and recruited them for a mission, to capture the Yamanouchi heir. As he looked them over only Gabriela showed any signs of being able to chew gum and use nunchaku at the same time. Still, they were expendable, his plan required them only as a diversion while he located and restrained Yori.

---

With no Ron around to cook the women had ordered Chinese takeout. They were almost finished eating when Ron and Yori came in the back door of the house and into the kitchen.

Ron began introductions, "This is Yori. You have met Kim before."

"I am pleased to see you again," the Japanese woman said.

"It's good to see you, Yori."

"This is Shego," Ron continued. "She and Kim are…"

"We're lovers, " the redhead told Yori. "The babies in the play pen are ours."

Shego waved. Yori looked puzzled, but said nothing. Ron carried on, "This is Monique. Why are you here?"

"I live here, remember? Aren't I allowed a Friday night without work or going out with Will?"

"This is Justine. She just moved in about a week ago."

The tall, thin woman nodded her head at Yori.

Ron could delay it no longer, "This is Bonnie Rockwaller. Bonnie, Yori. Yori, Bonnie."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees as Bonnie managed a, "Hello," through gritted teeth. Yori said nothing to Bonnie, simply staring at her like one might examine some odd specimen at the zoo.

"Ron-kun, please take my bag to our room."

"Uh, I was thinking I'd give you my room. There are some little rooms on the top floor and I was planning to--"

"Ron-kun. I came to be with you. Put my bag in the room where WE will be."

_"That went terribly well,"_ Ron thought to himself as he carried Yori's bag up the back stairs. _"At least neither of them pulled a weapon."_ It was the first time Ron had heard Yori speak publicly about the two of them as a couple. Then the knot returned to his stomach, it was also the day she told him they were not, and could never be, a couple.

Ron returned downstairs and Yori apologized to the women for not staying up later, "I am very sorry, but I am tired from my flight. I hope we can talk more tomorrow. Come, Ron, show me where we are to sleep."

He changed into his pajamas while she brushed her teeth in the bathroom. He wondered if, actually hoped that, the day had been a dream. Nothing was making sense.

Yori returned to the room in a red negligee. He did not remember seeing her take it with her, but it was so small it could have been concealed easily. Once on it concealed nothing.

"Ron-kun," she said softly, her fingers brushing against his cheek, "You may close your mouth."

"Muh… Muh… I don't think you should sleep in that."

"You wish me to take it off?"

"Yes, No… I mean, I may have trouble controlling myself if you are in that."

She wrinkled her brow. Ron was so curious. "Why do you want to control yourself?"

"I don't… But, you're going to marry Hiro. What are you doing here? It isn't right."

"I have told you. Hiro does not love me. I do not love Hiro. I love you--"

"But you're going to marry Hiro. I can't imagine he is very happy that you are here."

"I am certain he is not happy. When we are married I will be faithful to my husband. But before we are married I wish to say goodbye to the man who I love." Yori began to cry. "This is why you may not return to Yamanouchi. I do not--"

Ron felt the tears starting in his own eyes. He knew what she was going to say, and he did not want to hear it. He cut her off by pressing his own lips to hers. They stood, locked in their embrace for two minutes, then moved to the futon -- the negligee and pajamas being discarded on the floor beside them.

After the lovemaking, and quick trips to clean up Yori cuddled against him and prepared to sleep.

"You should have told me Sensei was your grandfather before we ever made love," Ron whispered.

"Would it have mattered?"

"I… I don't know."

"If it would have not mattered, it makes no difference that you did not know. If it mattered I should not have told you. I wanted you as you wanted me."

"Damn your logic," he said softly, and kissed her cheek.

She purred and snuggled closer. "Please, hold me, Ron-kun." Even though they had not been able to keep their love completely secret at Yamanouchi they had always tried to maintain appearances. They had never been able to spend an entire night together.

After her long flight, and in the arms of the man she loved, Yori fell asleep quickly. Despite sleeping poorly for two nights Ron could not sleep. It was wrong for her to be here -- she was engaged to Hiro. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled, God, he loved her. They should not have had sex. Maybe she would stay… What would she do if she stayed? What would he do if she stayed? It was wrong for her to be here. It was wrong for them to make love. And Ron could think of nothing he had ever wanted more in his entire life than to have her here with him.

_"I really, really need to talk with Sensei,"_ Ron thought.


	2. Chapter 2 Revenge of the Ninja

Thanks to Kaede Shinomori for Spanish obscenities and bad grammar by request. It took a little while to convince KS that was really what I wanted.

The difference between plagiarism and research is citation. I hope you recognize the adaptation of a quote from AA Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh.

Boilerplate Disclaimer: Disney Co. owns all the various characters from the Kim Possible series. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

Finally, no actual ninjas were harmed in the writing of this chapter.

**Chapter 2 - Revenge of the Ninja**

The rented van drove slowly past the large house, then the tall, skinny man parked about a block and a half away, "Is this close enough, Sensei?" he asked Fukushima.

Fukushima nodded yes. He used hand signals to indicate Andrew and Gabriela should accompany him. Gabriela understood; Andrew was clueless. "Come with me," he finally hissed at the young man with thick glasses and a bad haircut. "We must investigate the house of the enemy."

All were now in the black garb that made them hard to see in the darkness of night. The ninja leader left the two novices in the yard and circled the house. Four women watched television in a front room of the house. There were also two babies in the room in a playpen. A second floor light suggested another bedroom. It might be the room of his enemy and Yori, or it might be another resident of the house. He returned to his students on the lawn.

"I am going into the house now. I will remain there until everyone has gone to bed. When everyone is asleep you will come to this back door and I will open it from the inside for you."

"Sensei, how will we know when everyone is asleep."

"I will send you text message. Go back to the van now. Wait." Cell phones weren't old school ninjutsu, but they were pretty damned convenient.

Gabriela and Andrew returned to the van as Fukushima quietly explored what he could of the house while waiting for the women watching movies in the living room to go to bed.

---

Yori slept so deeply that, even though he was not training as he should, Ron was able to slip away from her and off of the futon. He seated himself cross-legged at the side of the room and began to draw on the mystical monkey power. He had gained better control over his power through the years, but was not certain he would be able to use it as he desired.

Half a world away Sensei led a class of advanced students at Yamanouchi. Suddenly, in the back of his mind, he heard an almost musical tone and a pleasant sounding female voice informed him, "You have chi-mail." The old man quickly dismissed the class from the dojo and assumed a posture for meditation.

Within the old teacher's mind he heard a voice, "Sensei, is that you?"

"I am here, Ronald. You are the only person I know who gained the power of communication with less than fifty years of practice."

"Cool. So, like there are even more people I can call like this?"

"There are only a handful of us in the entire world. But I do not believe you called for anything so mundane as showing off your control of the mystical monkey power."

"Do they all speak English?"

"We aren't speaking English. We are not speaking Japanese. We interpret each other's thoughts in the language we best know. But you did not wish to discuss metaphysics either."

"You know Yori is here--"

"Yes. I know. I am not happy about it."

"Why, Sensei? Why is she marrying that jerk Hirotaka?"

"There are many reasons, Ronald."

"I want the true one."

"They are all true. Truth is not always as simple as you imagine. Some are more important than others."

"Well, can you explain why she needs to marry Hiro?"

"Our family has provided leadership at Yamanouchi for many years. She is the heir. When I die her husband will assume a position as head of the school."

"I am sorry, Sensei. I did not realize she was the only family you had left."

"She is not. I have several children, and many grandchildren."

"So, she's like the oldest? Is that why she is the heir?"

"No, in fact she is the youngest of my grandchildren."

"So what makes her the heir?"

"Because she desires to maintain the family tradition. I cannot say my children are truly a disappointment. There is a doctor, a publisher, and a professional musician… Okay, perhaps he is a disappointment. But none of them wanted to follow me at Yamanouchi. The other grandchildren all visit here, but they always returned home and did not want to study here. Yori alone realizes how important our heritage is. I would have to say she is my favorite."

"And so you punish her by making her marry Hiro?"

"Ron, you could not become head of the school--"

"It's 'cause I'm gaijin, right? That's the whole reason for this 'not good enough for my granddaughter' stuff, isn't it?"

"Not exactly Ronald. You are a good man. If she were not the heir I could wish no finer man than you for Yori. But yours is not the heart of a warrior. Look within yourself, you know it to be true. You stand up for what you believe. But you are a man of peace. The head of the school must have the heart of a warrior. Hiro, for all his vanity, has such a heart."

"But he and Yori don't love each other!"

"I hope that will come. I did not love my wife when we were married, but I came to love her as we lived our lives together. Yori and Hiro will come to love each other in time. But I cannot have you at Yamanouchi. She loves you too deeply."

"And I love her. I will never love another like I love Yori!"

"Ronald, do you really believe your heart is so small? You will find another. And when you do it will be as if this was not true."

"I can't believe that."

"You cannot believe that today. You will someday realize that when you are in love it is always for the first time."  
"I am sorry," the old man told the grieving youth. "Have you no family traditions?"

"Oh, my grandparents had traditions like you wouldn't believe. My dad always hated them growing up. I don't know if we do anything that--"

"What do your grandparents think of that?"

"My grandfather is dead. Grandma… I think sometimes we disappoint her a great deal."

"And why is she disappointed."

"I guess because the traditions that kept us together and made us a people for hundreds of years are not being kept by her family."

"So, you understand how you hurt her?"

"But don't my folks and I have a choice in how we live our lives? Do we have to work or not work, eat or not eat because of something some guys thousands of years ago made up?"

"We all make our choices, Ronald. Yori is not happy with all the family traditions. But she is putting family first rather than herself. Does she not have the right to make her choice?"

Ron was silent for a minute. "I'm not going to win, am I Sensei?"

"I think you have won a great deal, Ronald. But unfortunately it is not what you can recognize now. I hope--"

The communication ended abruptly. Ron wondered what had happened. Had Sensei been interrupted in Japan? Had he suffered some sort of mystical monkey power failure? As he tried to figure out what happened he felt the hairs on his body bristle, and sensed that somehow he or Yori was in danger.

---

Fukushima had waited a half hour after the women had gone to bed for everyone to go to sleep. He believed he had located Yori and Ron in a bedroom off the back stairway. He had trouble believing they could be lovers, although the sounds he heard suggested it. Still, if it were true it would only mean that much more pain for Stoppable when he kidnapped Yori.

He was not completely certain what he would do after he captured Yori. But the fact of her capture would hurt both Sensei and Ron Stoppable -- two men he hated -- and that made the attempt worthwhile.

Perhaps he could demand a ransom; reinstatement at Yamanouchi would give him what he wanted… But why settle for something as small as reinstatement? He could become a teacher at Yamanouchi… Why settle for something as little as becoming an instructor? If he could force Yori to marry him he would become the head of Yamanouchi when Sensei died. This was definitely worth any risk.

He sent a text message to the van and went downstairs to open the back door. The kitchen was far enough from the bedrooms that he risked giving them brief oral instructions. He pointed to the main stairs. "There are several bedrooms on the second floor. A Japanese woman sleeps in one of them, the daughter of my enemy. You will find her. When you find her, attempt nothing. Come back to kitchen. I wait here. You all will leave the house then. I take care of my revenge."

"You aren't going to hurt anyone, are you Sensei?"

"Of course not. This is only to show that our school it greater than their school. Go now, I wait here."

Fukushima waited until they left the kitchen, then headed up the back stairs. Soon the idiots would be discovered, and in the confusion he would find a chance to slip in and capture Yori.

Two of Fukushima's ninjas lagged behind the others. "I dunno about this," the black man whispered to an acne-scarred teen. "I think there's too much chance of us getting into real trouble with this."

"So what we gonna do?"

"I say go back to the kitchen and tell Sensei."

"He's gonna be mad."

"Yeah, well better that than the cops picking us up."

They slunk back to the kitchen, only to find Fukushima had gone. "What we gonna do now?" the teen asked.

"I say we wait for the others." As they waited, however, they heard a noise coming from the stairs. Not knowing if it was one of their own or not the black man warned his partner, "We'd better hide."

Bonnie was in the mother of all rotten moods. Shego had let slip that Yori was from some sort of ninja school, apparently the one where Ron had trained the last two summers. Why had Ron never mentioned Yori to her? The two of them were together right now. Bonnie had a small headache, she wasn't sure if it was the tension or the MSG in the take-out. But she was also hungry. Perhaps a little peanut butter and jelly sandwich would help. She came downstairs in the dark, but flipped the light on when she got into the kitchen.

"Peanut butter," she mumbled. "If I was peanut butter where would I be hiding?"

The ninja in the pantry noticed he was standing by the peanut butter jar. Trusting his black garb to keep him invisible in the darkness of pantry as Bonnie reached in he put the jar in her hands.

"Oh, good, there it is," Bonnie muttered, taking the peanut butter out of the pantry.

The ninja had time to draw a sigh of relief -- before a hand reached back into the pantry and grabbed him.

The noise from the kitchen awakened Shego. It was a curious noise. It rather sounded like someone beating a ninja against the refrigerator. Slipping out of bed quietly enough to leave Kim asleep Shego went downstairs.

The light was on in the kitchen, and it took Shego's eyes a minute to adjust from the darkness of the hallway. "You've got to do that more quietly," Shego told Bonnie, "You woke me up."

"Be with you in just a second," Bonnie said, slamming the ninja two more times into the 'fridge. She dropped him on the floor. "Ron's little yellow girlfriend brought a ninja into the house with her."

"Watch your language," Shego warned her. She spotted a bit of black cloth sticking out of the cabinet under the sink. "And there are a couple things you need to keep in mind -- besides the racist comments. One is that ninjas are like cockroaches, there is never just one of them." She opened the cabinet door and grabbed a second ninja.

"Let me take him off your hands," Bonnie offered.

"Jesus, Bonnie, will you try to damage him more quietly," Shego complained as Bonnie introduced the second ninja to Mr. Refrigerator. "You're going to wake up the babies."

"Sorry. What else were you going to tell me?"

"These guys didn't come with Yori. They are another bunch of ninjas. You need to think about things like that before you break them. I don't think either of these two are in any condition to question."

Another ninja had entered into the nursery. There were babies in two cribs, but no sign of a Japanese woman. Suddenly he shivered as what felt like an ice-cold hand grabbed the back of his neck. He whipped around, seeing no one. But his eyes caught something in the mirror. There was so little light in the room the man in black was virtually invisible, but the mirror showed a woman, all in white and faintly glowing, who had her hand on his neck. He looked around him again, but there was no woman there. He looked back to the mirror, which showed the white lady. He drew closer to the mirror, and she moved with him. He could see her clearly now, but her features melted and changed even as he watched the reflection. Her skin dissolved leaving a skull whose eye sockets burned with a hellish glow. Her teeth began to grow, longer and sharper as her jaws extended into a canine-like shape. He glanced around him again. There was no woman, but the icy grip on his neck was growing tighter and colder. He looked again in the mirror, the jaws were open now, and she was leaning towards him, the canine teeth ready to rip open his throat. He jerked out of her icy grip and ran for the doorway.

Oddly enough, someone had closed the door he had left open. In his panic he ran full-tilt into the door and fell to the floor of the nursery, stunned.

"What was that?" Kim grumbled, angry to have been awakened from her sleep. "Oh, God! The nursery!" Kim ran in, afraid one of the babies had climbed out of her crib and fallen on the floor. She tripped over a black-clad form on the floor. "What the--?" The nursery's outer door, which had been closed just a minute earlier, was open again and Kim saw the glow of the kitchen's light below. She grabbed the ninja by the right leg and headed downstairs.

The noise had awakened the infants, but they saw the white lady smiling down at them reassuringly and went back to sleep. They liked the white lady.

Here is Edward the ninja, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Kim Possible. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to the women in the kitchen.

Bonnie greeted Kim, "Let me guess, the damn ninjas woke you up too."

"Gee, how did you guess?" a grumpy Kim asked, holding an upside down Edward out in front of her. "What's your story?" she demanded.

"Ghost…" the man stammered, "Ghost…"

"Where was he?" Shego asked Kim.

"I found him stunned in the nursery."

"Sounds like you don't get to count him. That's one for the ghost. She's tied with Bonnie and me."

"What are you talking about?" the redhead demanded.

"Ninja count."

As the three women chatted a muffled scream was heard, beginning on the second floor and heading towards the basement.

Repair work had begun on the elevator, to make the house more accessible for Felix, but it had not yet been finished. The ninja who had rattled Monique's doorknob could, of course, not have known that. When the sleeper had awakened and demanded, "Who's there?" He panicked and fled to the elevator. Perhaps he didn't even realize it was the elevator door and mistook it for a closet door. It was a very deep closet.

"Want me to bring him up out of the basement?" Kim asked.

"If you would, please," Shego replied. "I'm putting a pot of water on for tea. Would you like a cup?"

"Yes, thank you," the redhead replied as she headed for the basement door.

"Me too," Bonnie requested.

"Could I have a cup?" one of the less battered ninjas asked. Bonnie moved towards him. "Oh, never mind."

Kim suspected a greenstick fracture on the leg of the most recent arrival and put a split on it as the tea brewed.

While the women drank tea and talked in the kitchen the lights suddenly dimmed for a second, came back to full brightness, and then briefly dimmed again.

"What was that?" Bonnie asked.

Shego swore, "My guess is that booby-trapped doorknob on Justine's door. She says she designed it to keep people out of her room and avoid getting hazed at MIT and Berkeley. Kim, we've got to tell her she can't use it here. It's too dangerous when the girls start to walk."

"Yeah," Kim agreed, "and we're not into hazing."

"She's probably worried about getting raped in her sleep by you dykes… I'm sorry, I'm just in a crappy mood," Bonnie apologized.

"I think you've been in it as long as I've known you," Shego said. "But it does seem even worse this morning. I think it's my turn to bring down Justine's catch."

The hair that remained on Andrew's head was smoking. Hopefully a real barber could leave him looking better than he had when he started the evening. Shego left him in the pile with the others, "Keep my tea warm, I think I heard one in the library when I was coming downstairs.

---

Fukushima heard most of the conversation going on in the kitchen from the back stair landing outside of Ron's room. He sighed deeply; his students weren't even capable of creating a good diversion. Still, as far as he could tell, none of the events in the rest of the house had even awakened Ron or Yori. He had always felt he was more powerful than Yori, he had continued to train since he left Yamanouchi, surely he would still be able to restrain her by himself. Stoppable… Fukushima grinned to himself, Stoppable was a joke. It was his naked mole rat who had won the victory against Monkey Fist, Stoppable was beneath his contempt. How could Yori have fallen in love with a fool such as that?

As his hand touched the door the ninja felt a current of power such as he had never experienced. He had gotten a D in aura reading, but the chi power in the closed room was so intense even Fukushima could feel it. He paused for a moment, wondering how Yori could have grown so powerful, but refused to consider a change in plans. He would kidnap Yori right out of bed, leaving Ron asleep -- wondering where Yori was when he awoke in the morning.

A little light from the kitchen came up the back stairs. As he silently opened the door the sliver of light spread wide, revealing Yori asleep on the futon. The chi power in the room was so intense it struck the ninja almost palpably, but where was Stoppable?

Fukushima looked around the room, something crouched quietly to the side, its eyes glowing blue with hate at the sight of the black clad man. The ninja tried to back away and close the door, but the beast leapt across the room, seizing him by the throat before he had a chance to cry out and choking him so tightly he could utter no sound. The beast then shook the man in black as a terrier shakes a rat.

Ron and Shego entered the kitchen with their captives at the same time. Gabriela had one arm twisted behind her back, "Go sit by the others," Shego warned her. The woman complied quietly.

"Ah, Ron, you might want to let go of his throat before you strangle him," Kim suggested.

"Just a couple seconds more, KP, I'm wondering if he will really turn purple."

Shego directed a question to the woman, "Is this all of you?"

Gabriela looked them over, "Yes."

Fukushima, having passed out, was dropped onto the floor with the others.

"How did you get here?" Shego continued to question the woman.

"You mean in the van this afternoon or the--"

"The van will do it. Who has the keys?"

The thin man held up the keys.

"Which way are you parked?" He pointed south. "Ron, will you go find a van and drive it up here? Our visitors need it to leave."

Ron noticed a tag with the license plate number on the key chain before he went out. Shego continued, "Kim, could you go down to the basement and find those rolls of duct tape? I'm going upstairs for the explosives--"

"Explosives? I don't--"

"The small ones. I don't want to waste the big ones."

Kim had no idea what Shego was talking about, but decided to say nothing.

Shego continued, "Bonnie, watch our friends while we're gone. If anyone moves… Try not to leave any dents in the fucking refrigerator this time, okay?"

"Okay," Bonnie grumbled, watching the men closely. Those who were conscious decided that their unconscious brethren had the right idea and didn't move. Gabriela weighed her options, sitting quietly sounded safer than moving -- even with the talk of explosives.

When Ron got back into the house Fukushima was wrapped in duct tape like a mummy. A small box of some sort was strapped to his chest, and the tape didn't cover the face of a timer on the box. Two of the men already had a band of duct tape tightly wrapped around their right legs, which held a small tube covered with duct tape in place.

Shego was finishing a band of wire and duct tape on the leg of a third man. "Ron," she asked. "Did you buy the twenty foot or fifty foot proximity fuses?"

"The twenty-footers," he said happily, wondering what in the hell Shego was talking about.

Five minutes later all six student ninjas had wires and duct tape wrapped securely about one leg, along with a small cylindrical object.

"Okay, lady and gentlemen," Shego began her speech. The proximity fuses are only good for twenty feet, so I won't push the transmitter to activate them until you're in the van. Once it's pushed if you move more than twenty feet from this guy--"

"Fukushima," Ron interrupted to say.

"Fukushima here," Shego continued, "and the transponder on his chest the little bomb on your leg goes off. It also goes off if you cut the wire holding it in place. And our transmitter will send a destruct signal to Fuku's transponder in five hours. But there's good news -- do you want to hear it?"

Those who could nodded their heads.

"I just saved a lot of money on my car insurance by switching to --"

Bonnie and Kim both burst out laughing at the looks of terror on the ninjas' faces.

"No, seriously," Shego began again, "The transmitter only has a range of… Ron, was it a hundred and fifty miles or two hundred miles?"

"I think it was a hundred and fifty, but I'm not sure."

"If you can get a hundred and fifty miles away in the next five hours --"

"Better make it two hundred to be safe," Ron interrupted.

"Good idea. You should always be careful when you're wearing a bomb on your leg. Anyway, once you're out of transmitter range you're safe. The transponder is no longer active and you can remove the bombs safely. Now, two more things, first, don't come back here. Is everyone clear on that?"

Those who could nodded their heads.

"Second, does anyone need to go to the bathroom now before you start your trip?"

Two men cautiously raised their hands.

"Okay, well hurry up. Bonnie, show them to the bathroom under the stairs. I won't activate the transmitter until you're all in the van."

Ron and Kim loaded the immobile students and Fukushima into the van. An unhappy looking Gabriela sat behind the steering wheel.

"Drive safely," Shego cheerfully instructed Gabriela.

The woman glared at Shego, "Jodete, gringa de mierda."

Shego grinned, "Yo pasar tiempo mucho en Mexico, senorita."

The woman behind the wheel paled slightly, then hit the gas. Tires squealed as the van peeled out of the driveway and onto a street headed east.

"What did she say?" Bonnie asked.

"It's sort of the Spanish equivalent for a feat that's anatomically impossible. I think I told her I understand a little Spanish -- or maybe I challenged her uncle to a game of lacrosse."

"You don't know a darn thing about explosives, do you?" Kim asked as they watched the van disappear from view.

"Nope," Shego admitted, "but I'm a good liar and I don't think they know enough to contradict me. I'm a little worried about the woman though, she seems bright enough to realize those 'bombs' are the exact size of a tampon wrapped in duct tape."

"And the men won't notice?" Ron asked.

Kim laughed, "Ron, did you recognize the size and shape? And you live in a house full of women."

"Where did you get the wire?" Ron asked Shego.

"It was left over from the rewiring in January."

"And the box on the one guy's chest?" Bonnie asked.

"Band-aid box… Damn, I forgot to take out the band-aids. We need another box for your bathroom."

"Great improv," Bonnie congratulated Shego. "That was a hilarious idea."

"Glad you thought so, I used your watch for the timer on Fukushima's chest."

"You what!"

---

Yori and Ron seldom left his room over the weekend. On Monday morning she gently shook him awake. "Ron-kun, I must return."

He dressed silently, afraid that if he tried to speak he would break down again and beg her to stay.

"Are you going in to Global Justice today?" Kim asked at breakfast.

"Not today," Ron said quietly. "Tell them I'm not feeling well. I won't be feeling well again tomorrow, but I'll be in."

"You make me sorry that I came to America," Yori said.

He tried to smile, with little success. "Don't be. You… You know what you mean to me. Thank you for coming to say goodbye in person."

"Goodbye?" Kim asked.

"I don't want to talk about it KP."

Out at the airport Ron used the method that worked before to get back to the gate with Yori. He was determined to stay with her as long as he could. They held hands as they waited for boarding to start. There were no words left to say, each felt the other's pain and had no words which could give comfort.

As the woman at the gate announced the start of boarding they stood and embraced each other tightly, remaining locked in the other's arms until last call forced them to separate. "I love you," Ron said simply.

"I love you also, Ron."

He watched as Yori and his heart went through the door. He moved to the terminal window and watched until the plane took off and disappeared in the distance. Only then did he begin the long walk to the parking lot.

Yori sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. She hoped to sleep for much of the way home. Kim's girls had been a surprise. When Kim had told her the story, however, she identified with Kim's fear of losing someone she loved.

Ron had saved the Lotus Blade, the treasure of Yamanouchi. He had saved her life, and that of grandfather. He possessed the power of their school's founder. Surely, despite all her grandfather said, Ron was the true heir of Yamanouchi. Yori took a great deal of comfort in the love she had seen between Kim and Shego and their children. She had gone off the pill a month ago. Hiro would head the school after her grandfather's death. She would let fate decide who was the proper heir. If she had conceived while in Middleton Ron's child would lead the school someday. If not, she would accept her husband as true head of the school.


	3. Chapter 3 Restoration of a Relationship?

Boilerplate Disclaimer: Disney owns all the various characters from the Kim Possible series. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

**Chapter 3 - Renewal of a Relationship**

Ron would not talk about Yori's visit with Kim. She hinted she would like to know more, she reminded him that friends could share their feelings with each other, she ambushed him with questions he deftly avoided, she fired queries at him at pointblank range, and while she had not yet threatened him with bodily violence if he did not talk the option was sounding better to her all the time.

His change in behavior was visible as he spent the summer as a Global Justice intern. He seemed more quiet. Will Du ascribed Ron's subdued behavior to taking the training seriously, and wrote a glowing evaluation for Betty Director. Shego and Monique felt Ron was going through a rough time in a relationship and, without knowing the exact nature of the problem or the depth of Ron's feelings, thought it was best to give him space until he wanted to talk about his feelings. Bonnie was too upset with Ron to put her feelings into words.

Ron spent more time with Felix than anyone else. Ron didn't want to think about the future, it appeared too bleak to him. Mindless video games with Felix to kill time that would otherwise be spent in brooding were his only interest. With the confusion over his move back to Middleton and paperwork for transferring to Middleton U Felix had not found a job for the summer and was always available for a video game or to get Ron out on the driveway to shoot hoops. And if Ron was more open about his feelings to Felix than he was to Kim the man in the wheelchair did not pass the information on to the redhead.

The blond man had never mastered the art of subtle. It was obvious to both Kim and Shego that he usually left a room soon after Bonnie arrived. And what only Bonnie could know was that Ron was careful to never be alone in a room with her.

**Insert the narrative in the story The Odd Couple at this point. If you haven't read it yet you can do so now. This story will still be here waiting for you to come back to it.**

Saturday night, and the gang would be starting the weekly poker game soon. "Looks like Felix is here to play. He brought a three foot sub," Ron chuckled.

Kim and Shego exchanged glances. "I don't think that's a sub, Ron," Kim told her buddy.

"Sure it is, KP," Ron said confidently as Felix approached the house. "Felix! Hey, bro, we got some floods up down on the garage. And we got a half hour to game time. Want to go down and shoot some hooooooOOOOOPS!"

Kim and Shego grabbed Ron in mid-question and threw him over the porch railing into the lilac bushes.

"God's going to get you for that, KP, and if he doesn't, I will."

"It was an accident, Ron." Kim said as she stared at the pants in her hand. "My ring must have gotten caught on something."

"Give them to me," Bonnie asked, taking the pants from Kim.

"Is she going to bring them to me?" Ron called, "I lost my boxers in the bushes."

Shego stared in disbelief as the front door closed behind Bonnie. "Uh, bad news, Stoppable, she went into the house with them. She may want you to go in after them."

"Er, I'm going to practice my ninja stealth techniques and go around the house to the back door without anyone seeing me."

"Have you noticed how weird Ron and Bonnie have been acting around each other since Yori was here?" Kim asked.

"Not really. I mean, sure I know that Bonnie has been acting strange. But how do you tell with Stoppable?"

---

Ron slipped on another pair of boxers and another pair of pants before heading to Bonnie's room. He knocked cautiously on the closed door, "Uh, Bonnie? Shego said you brought my pants inside. Can I have them back?"

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean no."

"They say that sometimes a girl says 'no' when she means 'yes', is that true?"

"NO!"

Ron wasn't sure what that meant, but was pretty sure Bonnie had not taken it as a joke. "Uh, Bonnie. I'm not sure what I did--"

"ARE YOU STUPID?"

"Uh, maybe. My wallet is in my pants. Can I have--"

"NO!"

"What do I need to do to get my pants back?"

"You need to talk with me."

"Isn't that what we're doing now?"

"YOU ARE STUPID!"

"Bonnie? How about tomorrow afternoon? Kim and Shego will have the girls and will be playing bridge over with the Drs. P. Monique will probably be working. I don't know what Justine does -- probably sits in her room being quiet."

"Okay, where do we talk?"

"Would the the kitchen be okay?"

"One-thirty, Ron, or you never see the billfold alive again."

---

Ron went into the kitchen at 1:20, and found Bonnie already there waiting for him.

She fired the opening salvo, "You led me on!"

"How did I lead you on?"

"You never said anything about her!"

"Did I lie to you? Did I whisper sweet nothings in your ear and tell you I loved you? I feel like I'm the victim here."

"You a victim? Don't give me that bullshit. You've been treating me like a leper since that night in the Jacuzzi. I didn't tie you down and force you to do anything."

"It would have been awfully hard to say no."

"Oh, poor little Ron, raped by big, strong Bonnie. He cried in vain for help but no one heard his tearful pleas. Is that why you carried me into my room for round number two? You were enjoying it too, and you know it. And you've been treating me like a piece of shit since that night. I don't deserve that Ron. I… I really don't deserve that."

"I'm sorry."

"I thought you liked me."

"I do like you, Bonnie. I really do. Sometimes when I guy likes a girl it's just easy to think that it means romantic love. That's what some people thought about Kim and me. It even confused us sometimes."

"So, you've got no feelings for me?"

"I just said I like you."

"But that's it. My consolation prize? A pat on the head for you treating me like dirt after your real girlfriend shows up?"

"Look, I'm confused okay? Yori came over here to dump me--"

"She came from Japan to dump you? Now I know you're lying to me."

"I love her. She loves me. I asked her to marry me." Bonnie sat there, stunned. "But her family wants her to marry someone else. I'm out."

"I'm sorry, Ron," Bonnie said softly, "really."

"Yeah, well, right now I'm too depressed to think straight. I'm worried I could imagine I've fallen in love with someone else just 'cause I'm on the rebound. And that would really be unfair to you. I don't want to lead you on. I... I loved being in bed with you. It just makes it hard for me to be around you now. I wish you and I didn't have so much history. I imagine us doing it again--"

"Not going to happen. I don't see it anyway. I'm really mad at you for how you've been treating me. It still confuses me that we can be screwing one night and you dump me the next day."

"You confuse me too. Confuse me? Sometimes you scare the heck out of me. I'd like us to be friends again. We're living together. But I can't forget that night."

"It would be easier if we were strangers, wouldn't it?"

The blonde man nodded. She took his wallet off her lap and slid it across the table to him, then got up and started to walk out of the kitchen. As she reached the door she turned around and walked back.

Bonnie stuck out her hand. "Hello. My name is Bonnie Rockwaller and I don't believe I've met you."

Ron stared for a minute, then grinned and took her hand, "My name is Ronald Stoppable. My friends call me Ron -- and I hope that will include you."

"This is awfully forward of me on first meeting you and all, but there is a movie in town I've been dying to see and I'd like some company seeing it this afternoon -- my treat."

"Why, I think I'd be delighted to go with you. I'll spring for popcorn and sodas. What movie was it?"

"I don't think you've told me yet."

"Probably screen four at the Palace. They're showing a Bogie double-feature, African Queen and Casablanca."

"You need to know. I don't believe in kissing until the third date."

Ron closed his eyes, "TMI!"

When he opened his eyes Bonnie looked a little scared. He gave her a lop-sided grin and she returned a timid half-smile. "Does that mean no movie?" she asked.

"Movie is fine. I'm not ready to start counting dates yet. Okay?"

"Okay. Just let me change--"

"No. You change for a date. Not a date, remember? Besides, the cut-offs really show off your legs."

The smile Bonnie gave him was full and radiant. "Maybe I am too anxious to have a boyfriend. Maybe what I really need is just a friend. I like what you and Kim have. Maybe I can be another Kim to you."

"So, you're wanting to sleep with Shego too?"

Upon reflection, as he held her fists, Ron decided it might not have been the smartest thing he could have said -- especially when he remembered her kicking ability.

-- The End --


End file.
